Chapter 7: Customizing RealServer Features

RealServer settings are customized through the RealSystem Administrator. This chapter describes how to use RealSystem Administrator as well as the basic settings used by all RealServers.

Overview

To monitor and modify your RealServer, use RealSystem Administrator. Any adjustments you make are stored in a configuration file. There are a few specific features that can only be adjusted by editing the configuration file directly. These are highlighted in "Features Available Only Through Direct Editing".

Customizing RealServer Using RealSystem Administrator

RealSystem Administrator is the Web-based console for customizing RealServer features. It can be run from any browser on your network. It is password-protected when first installed, and you can create additional user names and passwords for any other people who will be helping you administer your RealServer.

When the RealServer installation program completes, it asks if you want to start RealServer and run RealSystem Administrator. If you choose Yes, RealSystem Administrator asks you for a name and password, then it starts.

To make changes to any feature, click on the appropriate category listed under Configure. Make the changes and click Apply. A confirmation page appears to let you know that the changes have been made. You may be required to restart RealServer; a message to that effect will appear if it is necessary.

If your Web browser is set to permit cookies, RealSystem Administrator "remembers" the page that was open in the right-hand frame the last time you used it or when you click the refresh button. In Netscape Navigator, RealSystem Administrator will reload with the main Welcome page when you resize the browser window unless cookies are enabled.

RealSystem Administrator Welcome Page

Starting RealSystem Administrator

You can view the configuration of your RealServer from nearly any browser on your network. Compatible browsers are Netscape Navigator version 4.06 or higher and Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.0 or higher.

To start RealSystem Administrator:

1. Start RealServer. See Chapter 6, "Starting and Stopping RealServer".

2. In a browser, type the following address:

   
   http://address:AdminPort/admin/index.html
   

   where:

   address is the IP address or host name of the machine on which RealServer is installed.

   AdminPort is the port that RealSystem Administrator uses to connect to RealServer. You were asked for a port number during setup. Use that port number here.

   The following URL will start RealSystem Administrator if it is typed in the browser on the same computer as RealServer (be sure to substitute your port number for AdminPort):

   
   http://127.0.0.1:AdminPort/admin/index.html
   

   The following command also works on the same computer:

   
   http://localhost:AdminPort/admin/index.html
   

3. You are prompted for your user name and password; these will match the values you entered during setup. (To change these values, see Chapter 15, "Authenticating RealServer Users".) Click OK.

   RealSystem Administrator appears.

   	Tip
   	Bookmark this location so that you can easily return here at any time.

Using RealSystem Administrator

Once you have started RealServer and RealSystem Administrator, you can change RealServer features with the instructions below:

To customize RealServer settings:

1. In RealSystem Administrator's left-hand frame, click the appropriate category below Configure.

2. Change the values in the page on the right.

3. When you have finished changing values, click Apply.

   If you made changes that require the Server to be restarted, the Pending Changes button at the top of RealSystem Administrator changes to red, and a red asterisk appears next to the field name that requires the restart.

   In addition, the Restart Server button, located at the at the top of the RealSystem Administrator window, turns red if you need to restart RealServer for your changes to take effect. When you see the Restart Server button change its color to red, you should click it as soon as it is convenient.

Restricting Access to RealSystem Administrator

To ensure that only certain people can use RealSystem Administrator to make changes to RealServer, you can authenticate all connections to RealSystem Administrator. Instructions are given in "Authenticating RealSystem Administrator Users".

Configuration File

Changes made with RealSystem Administrator are stored in the configuration file, named rmserver.cfg. It is a text file formatted with tags that are based on XML (Extensible Markup Language). This language introduces great flexibility to the configuration file format and enables third-parties to use this file and add to its functionality. Syntax of this file is given in Appendix C, "Configuration File Contents".

Be sure that your configuration file is stored where only authorized users can make changes to it.

	Tip
	Keep a backup copy of the configuration file. You may need it if you make changes to this file that you later want to undo or if you accidentally delete the working copy.

Editing the Configuration File with a Text Editor

A few specialized elements can only be changed by editing the file directly; they are noted in the text where they appear. In addition, third-party plug-ins may require their own parameters and variables, which cannot be added or modified through RealSystem Administrator; use a text editor to add them to the configuration file.

	Additional Information
	Appendix C, "Configuration File Contents" gives instructions on using a text editor to modify the configuration file directly.

Common Settings

Regardless of which features are in use, certain settings are used by every feature and apply to every RealServer. They are described in this section.

Port Numbers

Port settings tell RealServer where to listen for requests. Ports are described in detail in Chapter 3, "Overview of RealServer".

If your RealServer and Web server are on the same machine, you may need to modify the HTTP Port setting. See "Running Web Servers and RealServer on the Same System" for additional information.

Otherwise, you will probably not need to make any changes to the port settings.

	Note
	If you change the port numbers for RTSP Port, PNA Port and HTTP Port from their default values, you will need to tell your users so that they can include the new ports in their links. (If a link does not include a port number, RealPlayer uses default values for contacting the RealServer. But if RealServer is no longer listening on those ports, it will not receive the request.)

RealServer uses the following settings to determine where to listen for requests sent via a particular protocol (you can view the settings from RealSystem Administrator by clicking General Setup>Ports):

• PNA Port-the port where RealServer listens for material requested via PNA (such requests begin with pnm://). The default value is 7070. Earlier versions of RealSystem used this protocol.

• HTTP Port-the default value for this setting is 8080.

• RTSP Port-where RealServer listens for RTSP requests (these begin with rtsp://). At installation, the value is 554.

  	Note
  	To use a port lower than 1024 on a UNIX system, you must be logged on as super-user.

• Monitor Port-port used by Java Monitor. The default value is 9090.

• Admin Port-port number to which RealSystem Administrator connection requests are directed. The value for this setting is selected at random during setup to ensure security, and can be overridden by the user during setup.

Mount Points

Mount points on this page refer to on-demand clips. For a complete description of mount points, see "Mount Point". Mount points in other sections, such as for live material, are described in their respective chapters.

You do not need to change this setting unless you want to keep your media clips somewhere other than the Content directory or its subdirectories.

RealServer uses the following mount points when it is first installed:

• Main mount point (represented by /)-This refers to all content streamed by this RealServer

• secure-Content that will be authenticated is identified with this mount point

To change the base path of the main mount point:

1. In RealSystem Administrator, click General Setup. Click Mount Points.

2. In the list on the left, select /.

3. To change the base path, type the new path in the Base Path box.

4. Click Apply.

To add another mount point:

1. In RealSystem Administrator, click General Setup. Click Mount Points.

2. Click Add New.

   A generic mount point name appears in the Edit Mount Point box.

3. Type the new name in the Edit Mount Point name box. It must be unique.

4. Click Edit.

5. Give a description for this new mount point in the Description box.

6. Identify the location of the content by typing the full path in the Base Path box.

7. Click Apply.

MIME Types

MIME Types on a Web Server

RealServer works with any Web server that supports configurable MIME types. Make sure that your Web server has the RealNetworks MIME types defined.

Refer to the instructions accompanying your Web server to define the following MIME types on your Web server. Of the items on this list, only MIME types for the extensions .ram and .rpm are required. Other applications may use other types shown in the table.

MIME Types on RealServer

In addition, RealServer acts as a Web server for certain features. To this end, RealServer has its own MIME types section. You should only modify the list of MIME Types if you will be streaming a data type via HTTP that is not on the list. The following table shows RealServer's initial settings.

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This file last updated on 11/28/00 at 17:34:51.